ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah agreed on Monday to maintain political tolerance and consultation, as differences between the ruling PML-N and its coalition partner, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), continue to surface.
The meeting came days after the PPP stepped up its engagement with opposition parties over its grievances, particularly concerning the recent elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), in which the PML-N emerged victorious.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the two leaders discussed affairs of Sindh and ongoing development projects.
However, in a separate post on its official X handle, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said matters of mutual interest and political affairs also came under discussion.
“An agreement was reached on maintaining political tolerance and consultation,” the party said in the post on X.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, IT Minister Shaza Fatima, Law Minister Azam Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema and Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik.
The PPP has alleged rigging and irregularities in the AJK polls. Last week, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said a genuine alliance with the PML-N was not possible until the party’s concerns over the elections were addressed.
The PPP has also objected to the government’s handling of legislation in National Assembly. On August 18, it helped force the government to virtually suspend a heavy legislative agenda that included 21 bills.
Two days later, the lower house passed two bills relating to the military and nuclear command structure. Although the PPP voted for the legislation, Bilawal criticised the government for not taking its coalition partners into confidence before bringing the bills to the house.
Differences between the two parties have also surfaced at the provincial level. On Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a senior PML-N leader, accused the PPP of corruption and warned political opponents against targeting her government’s performance.
The PPP and PML-N remain coalition partners in the federal government, but their increasingly public disagreements have raised questions over the durability of their political understanding.
Against this backdrop, Monday’s meeting underscored the need for continued dialogue and consultation between the coalition partners as they seek to contain their differences and keep the federal government arrangement intact.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026